April 25, 2012

The Morning Wrap

Foreign Corruption: Wal-Mart, the giant retailer now under fire over allegations of foreign bribery in Mexico, has participated in an aggressive and high-priced lobbying campaign to amend the long-standing U.S. anti-bribery law that the company might have violated, The Washington Post reports.

Oil Spill Charges: Federal prosecutors yesterday filed the first criminal charges flowing from the deadly Gulf of Mexico explosion and leak that became the worst environmental disaster in the country's history, The National Law Journal’s Mike Scracella reports.

Hollywood in China: The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an investigation into whether some of Hollywood’s biggest movie studios have made illegal payments to officials in China to gain the right to film and show movies there, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation, The New York Times reports.

Hot Seat: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is facing questions Wednesday from a Senate panel on the Secret Service prostitution scandal that embarrassed the White House and overshadowed the president's visit to a Latin American summit, The Associated Press reports.

Mad Cow: U.S. authorities reported the first U.S. case of mad cow disease in six years on Tuesday and quickly assured consumers and global importers that meat from the California dairy cow did not enter the food chain, Reuters reports.